So, the Tweeples Choice Awards didn’t work out so well.  I only had two votes on last weeks polls, not worth it.  For the rest of the categories, I’m simply going to pick the Audience Development Specialists Awards since we are all busy people.  The last two categories were:

Best Use of Mainstream 2009

• ‘Star Wars: In Concert’: a coda with Yoda http://bit.ly/625Jsq

• Lively & Looney Pop entertainment crosses over with classical fare in Bugs Bunny on Broadway http://bit.ly/Bv8xh

• Audience Development genius of the day: Chicago Museum of Science and Industry “Harry Potter” works wonders http://tinyurl.com/lq6skk

The ADS Award goes to: Star Wars: In Concert’: a coda with Yoda!  From L.A. to Chicago, this concert gave the GenX generation a chance to share with their children the joy of Star Wars and the joy of the orchestra all at the same time.  In our constant pursuit of getting GenX more involved, this was a great idea.

and now for Best Arts Advocate 2009

• (Gustavo Dudamel) In case you missed this :O)…Hollywood Swoons Over That Hair, That Baton http://bit.ly/1lXiQM

• (The Obamas) CAPITAL CULTURE: Obamas big on White House gigs http://bit.ly/JdFGh

• (Michael Kaiser) Kennedy Center chief  says great art is key to weathering crisis http://bit.ly/35eWF

As if you didn’t see it coming, the ADS Award goes to: Michael Kaiser.  It seemed like there wasn’t a week that went by where Kaiser was not in the papers.  Traveling from city to city to spread his word on how to save the arts from crisis, he also brought awareness of the arts to many that weren’t aware before.  Although I am still waiting for the documentary and the book, we at least had his blog posts at the Huffington Post to guide us regularly with his thoughts.

The next category is Best Use of Technology and Social Media. There were so many good ones.  Here is the list I found:

• RT @atlantasymphony We’re LIVE! Wynton Marsalis & Ken Meltzer discuss the ‘marriage of jazz and classical music’. http://is.gd/4YkJw
• Nexto to Normal’ uses Twitter to build audiences http://bit.ly/2Sfq0W
• The San Francisco Opera recently sought to engage a younger audience by offering free simulcasts in a baseball stadium.
• Audience development genius of the day! RT @greenchildren Our new Facebook application! http://apps.facebook.com/hearmenow/
• Audience Development genius of the day: http://www.cliburn.tv/ you can watch the competition live online! I’m excited!
• Audience Development Genius of the Day! RT @DenverCenter “10 Minutes to Curtain” came out yesterday. Silly Charlie: http://bit.ly/NAoXJ
• YouTube Symphony strikes again…great audience development! http://tinyurl.com/ceqz2d
• @_SanDiegoOpera #operahistory
  

I will need to think about this one today.  If you have any comments to help me make a decision, I could use your input!

Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,

Shoshana

Shoshana Fanizza
Audience Development Specialists
https://www.buildmyaudience.com
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“Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners.”
~James Stewart